Manufacture of wire glass



4 Sheets-Sheet 1 1933- G. H. JUERGENS MANUFACTURE OF WIRE GLASS Filed May 20, 1931 Illln W 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEY NOV. 7, 1933. H JUERGENS 1,934,354

MANUFACTURE OF WIRE GLASS Filed May 20, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 BY ATTORNEY Q /QWVM desired in the finished sheet.

Patented Nov. 7, 1933 MANUFACTURE OF WIRE GLASS.

Gustav H. Juergens, St. Louis, Mo., assignor to Mississippi Glass Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application May 20, 1931. Serial No. 538,676

9 Claims.

This invention pertains to the manufacture of wire glass by an intermittent process. 7

The principal object of the invention is to disclose ways and means for forming comparatively short sheets of reinforced wire glass without interrupting the continuous flow of molten metal from the melting tank. 7

Further and other objects and advantages will be apparent from the specification and claims, and from the accompanying drawings which i1- lustrate what is now considered the preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a view of one form of the apparatus on line ll of Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a view on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged View of a portion of Fig. 1 showing the parts in different positions.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view on line 44 of Fig. l.

Fig. 5 is a view of another embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 6 is a View similar to Fig. 5 showing parts in diiferent positions.

, Fig. 7 is a view on line 7-7 of Fig. 6.

Referring to Figs. 1-4, roll 10 is mounted for rotation on shaft 12. Above roll 10 is a. first pass forming member which may be a roll 14 mounted on shaft 16 which is supported for rotation in the upper ends of a pair of vertical bars 18, each of which near the middle of its length is yoked as at 26 to snugly fit the sides of shaft 12. The lower end of member 18 is connected to the free end of a link 22 the other end of which is mounted to swing on stud 24 in bracket 26. Slot 28 permits a slight longitudinal movement of the link. A roller 30 carried by link 22 rides on cam 32 rotatably mounted on shaft 34. Shaft 16 passes through a bearing 35 in guide member 36 (Fig. 2) which permits the shaft to move vertically. Therefore, each time the hump of cam 32 passes under roller 30, shaft 16 and roll 14 are raised and lowered. Yoke 20 contacting with shaft 12, and member 36 contacting with shaft 16 serve to guide the roll in a vertical path. An adjusting screw 38 underneath bearing 35 serves to limit the downward travel of roll 14 to provide a roll pass 40 of predetermined height.

Molten metal 42 flows constantly, in a stream of substantial depth, from the tank 44 at the right, over lip 46 and between guns 48 (one on each side of the stream) through pass 40, which is usually adjusted to form a sheet of half the thickness However, during each revolution of cam 32 roller 14 is raised momentarily as shown in Fig. 3 to permit a gob of metal to rush through between rolls 10 and 14, to form a ball as indicated at 49 (Fig. l) on roll 10 above the second pass 51, formed by an upper member which may be a roll 50 mounted for rotation on shaft 52 and so posi tioned as to form with roll 16 a pass of proper dimension to roll a finished sheet of the thickness desired.

From the above it will be understood that the lower half sheet is formed in pass 40 between rolls 1G and 14 and that the half sheet thus formed is carried on roll 10 through the pass between rolls l0 and 50, where the upper half sheet, formed from metal in ball 49, is welded thereto to form the finished sheet 54. If it is desired to incorporate reinforcing wire into the sheet, the wire is fed either as at 56 or as at 58. If fed as at 55 the wire passes on the lower surface of roll 14 through pass 4i) to emerge from the pass on the top of the lower half sheet formed in that pass. Then when the upper half-sheet is added in the second pass, the finished sheet 54 emerges therefrom with the wire reinforcement in the middle of the finished sheet.

If the wire be fed as at 58 it is placed on the upper surface of the lower half-sheet just before it enters ball 49, to emerge, as before, in the mid dle of sheet 54. Whether the wire be fed as at 56 or as at 58 the surface of the lower half-sheet is sufficiently stiffened by itscontact with roll 14 to guide the wire accurately into the second'pass.

The reinforcing wire is supplied in lengths suficient to form a sheet of predetermined length and its insertion is timed to correspond with the formation of successive balls 49, so that the retreatingend of one length of wire passes through the second roll pass just as a ball-of metal is nearly exhausted, and the advancing end of the next length of wire enters the second pass just after the next ball is formed. The clear glass between the lengths of wire is cut or fractured in the finished sheet 54 to form the separate reinforced sheets.

Another embodiment of the invention is shown in Figs. 5, 6 and '7, in which lower roll 10 is replaced by a roll 60 having a depression or recess 62 in its surface; in which roll 14 is replaced by a roll 64 not radially movable; and in which roll 50 is replaced by a roll 66 movable to and from roll 60.

Roll 54 is provided at its ends with collars 68 of greater diameter than the roll and adapted to roll on the surface of roll 60 beyond the ends of recess 62. The difference in radii of roll 64 and collars 68 determines the depth of the roll pass which forms the first half-sheet.

Roll 66 is short enough to drop into depression 62 and is provided at its ends with projecting collars 70 which roll on the surfaces of roll 60 and of depression 62 in order to control the thickness of the finished sheet. Collars 70 are held against roll 60 and its recess 62 by springs 72.

In operation, metal fiows constantly between rolls 60 and 64. Except while recess 62 is under roll 64, a first half-sheet, of thickness governed by collars 68, is being formed between those rolls. While recess 62 is passing roll 66 the recess is filled with molten metal from stream 42. This gob of metal is carried around until roll 64 dams it back to form ball 74, from which metal is supplied to form the upper half-sheet of the finished sheet 54.

Reinforcing wire may be inserted as at 56 or 58 exactly as described above in connection with the embodiment of Figs. 1-4, and the separate sheets of predetermined length are then formed as before by cutting or fracturing the clear glass.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiment herein illustrated and described but may be used in other ways without departure from its spirit as defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. In apparatus of the class described, in combination, a roll, a recess in the surface of said roll, means for flowing molten metal in a thick stream onto the surface of said roll, a member adjacent said roll to create between said roll surface and said member a forming pass of sheetforming dimensions, means for rotating said roll whereby said recess will periodically become filled with metal from said stream and carry said metal underneath and beyond said adjacent member, and means for subsequently passing said metal through a roll pass to form a sheet.

2. In apparatus of the class described, in combination, a first sheet forming pass, a second sheet forming pass, means for supplying molten metal in a thick stream to said first pass which forms a first half-sheet therefrom, means for periodically enlarging said first pass whereby a gob of metal passes therethrough to form a ball at said second pass, and means for conducting said first half-sheet through said second pass which welds to said first half-sheet a second halfsheet formed from metal in said ball, to form a finished sheet of substantially double the thickness of said first half-sheet.

3. The invention set forth in claim 2 in which reinforcing wire is placed between said halfsheets to become embedded in the finished sheet.

4. The invention set forth in claim 2 in which reinforcing wire is placed on said first half-sheet, by which it is carried into said second pass to emerge therefrom embedded in the finished sheet.

5. The invention set forth in claim 2 in which reinforcing wire is placed on said first half-sheet between said forming passes, to emerge from said second pass embedded in the finished sheet.

6. In apparatus of the class described, in combination, a roll, two members above said roll to form first and second sheet forming passes between said members and said roll, means for feeding molten metal in a thick stream onto said roll, means for rotating said roll to carry metal from said stream through said first pass to form a half-sheet, means for periodically raising said first member to permit a gob of metal from said stream to flow to said second pass, and means comprising said rotating roll for conducting said half-sheet through said second pass, said second pass being effective to weld to said half-sheet a second half-sheet formed from metal in said gob to form a finished sheet of substantially double the thickness of the'said first-half sheet.

"I. In apparatus of the class described, in combination, a tank for molten metal, a member forming one part of a pass, means for flowing molten metal over said member, a second member forming the other part of the'pass and arranged adjacent the first pass member to create between said members, a forming pass or normal sheet forming dimensions, a thirdmember cooperating with one of the firsttwo members to form a second pass, the dimensions between the members of which are greater than the normal dimensions between the members of the first pass, and meansoperating at predetermined fixed intervals for enlarging the dimensions between the first pass members to create a fiow of metal from said tank sufiicient to fill the dimensions between the members of the second pass member.

8. In apparatus of the class described, in combination, a first member, means for flowing metal onto said member, a second member adjacent the first member to create between said members, a pass for forming a sheet whose dimensions are less than the finished sheet, means operating at predetermined fixed intervals for causing a gob of metal to pass between said members and to unite with and supplement the thickness'of said sheet, together with means cooperating with one of said members to form a second pass for leveling out the gob and completing a sheet of finished dimensions.

9. In apparatus of the class described, in com bination, a first member, means for flowing metal onto said member, a second member adjacent the first member to create between said members, a pass for forming a sheet whose dimensions are less than the finished sheet, means operating at predetermined fixedintervals for causing a gob of metal to pass between said members and to unite with and supplement the thickness of said sheet, means cooperating with one of said members to form a second pass for leveling out the gob and completing a sheet of finished dimensions, and means for injecting reinforcing wire duringthe completion sheet.

, GUSTAV H. JUERGENS. 

